Dr. Florence B. Seibert, Inventor Of Standard TB Test, Dies at 93

By BRUCE LAMBERT

Published: August 31, 1991

Dr. Florence B. Seibert, who invented the first reliable tuberculosis test and helped improve the safety of intravenous injections, died on Aug. 23 at the Palm Springs Nursing Home in St. Petersburg, Fla. She was 93 years old.

The cause of death was not disclosed. Teresa Hicks, an aide who helped care for Dr. Seibert at the home, said she had been in declining health in the last two years and suffered from complications from childhood polio.

For her pioneering research Dr. Seibert was inducted last year into the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

She was born in Easton, Pa., and was stricken by polio at the age of 3. Forced to wear braces, she turned to academic pursuits because, she later recalled, "I couldn't go out and dance and play" like other children. Academic and Medical Achievements

She graduated at the top of her high school class and won a scholarship to Goucher College in Maryland. After graduating she worked as a chemist in a paper mill in World War I. She then won a scholarshipto Yale University, where she earned a Ph.D.

While studying at Yale she discovered that some bacteria managed to survive existing distillation methods. Contaminated distilled water, when used for intravenous injections, often caused fever in patients. Dr. Seibert devised a simpler and better distillation process that eliminated the germs, making injections safer.

A Guggenheim Fellowship led her to Uppsala University in Sweden and her best-known discovery. She devised a method for isolating tuberculosis protein molecules, then used the material to develop a skin reaction test for tuberculosis infection.

The test was adopted as the standard by the United States in 1941 and by the World Health Organization in 1952, and is still in use today. A Public Health Consultant

During her career Dr. Seibert taught and did research at the University of Chicago and the Sprague Institute in Chicago, and at the Henry Phipps Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a consultant to the United States Public Health Service.

Dr. Seibert wrote many articles for scientific journals, and held five honorary degrees. Even after she retired in Florida, Dr. Seibert conducted research on cancer.

She is survived by a younger sister, Mabel, of St. Petersburg, who assisted in Dr. Seibert's research and lived with her.